STEM · Full roadmap · ~180 min read · 45 steps
📡Cisco CCNA (200-301)
Master networking fundamentals and pass the Cisco CCNA 200-301 exam
Activities in this path
Skill tree
0 / 45 steps
Unit 1
Start here
Course overview
What the CCNA is and how the exam works
One 120 minute exam over six weighted domains
Network components
The boxes that make a network: routers, switches, firewalls, APs, endpoints
Network topologies and architectures
2-tier, 3-tier, spine-leaf, WAN, and SOHO designs
The OSI and TCP/IP models
Seven layers of OSI mapped to four layers of TCP/IP
Unit 2
Encapsulation and the PDU names
Data gets wrapped in headers on the way down, unwrapped on the way up
Cabling, interfaces, and transceivers
Copper, fiber, and the modules that connect them
TCP versus UDP and common ports
Reliable and ordered, or fast and lightweight
IPv4 addressing and address classes
32 bits, four octets, and what private space means
Subnetting foundations and CIDR
Borrowing host bits to make more networks
Unit 3
Subnetting worked example, finding network and broadcast
Given an IP and mask, find the subnet, broadcast, and host range
VLSM and counting subnets
Right size each subnet instead of wasting addresses
Wildcard masks
The inverse of a subnet mask, used by ACLs and OSPF
IPv6 addressing
128 bits, hex notation, and the main address types
IPv6 EUI-64 and SLAAC
How a host builds its own IPv6 address
Unit 4
VLANs and trunking
Splitting one switch into many logical networks
Inter-VLAN routing
Getting VLANs to talk through a router or Layer 3 switch
EtherChannel
Bundling links into one logical connection
Spanning Tree Protocol
Preventing Layer 2 loops by blocking redundant paths
PortFast and BPDU Guard
Speeding up edge ports and protecting them
Unit 5
CDP and LLDP
Discovering directly connected neighbors
Wireless fundamentals
WLAN components, AP modes, RF basics, and the WLC
Wireless security
WPA2, WPA3, and how the handshake protects the network
The routing table and path selection
How a router picks one route out of many
Static routing
Manually telling the router where networks live
Unit 6
Dynamic routing and OSPF concepts
Routers learning paths from each other automatically
Configuring OSPF single area
Neighbors, DR/BDR, and a working config
First-hop redundancy with HSRP
Two gateways acting as one so failover is invisible
NAT and PAT
Translating private addresses to public ones
DHCP and the DORA process
Handing out IP addresses automatically
Unit 7
DNS, NTP, SNMP, and Syslog
The services that make a managed network usable
QoS basics and file transfer
Prioritizing traffic, and moving files and configs
Securing device access with SSH
Replacing Telnet with encrypted management
Security fundamentals and the CIA triad
Threats, vulnerabilities, and the three security goals
AAA and device hardening
Who you are, what you can do, and what you did
Unit 8
Port security
Limiting which devices can use a switch port
Layer 2 threats, DHCP snooping, and DAI
Defending the switching layer from common attacks
Access control lists
Filtering traffic with permit and deny rules
VPNs at a high level
Secure tunnels across an untrusted network
Automation, controllers, and software-defined networking
Separating the control plane from the data plane
Unit 9
REST APIs, JSON, and config management tools
How software talks to the network, and AI's role
Hands-on practice and the IOS CLI
Where to lab, and the command modes you live in
The boot sequence and troubleshooting habits
How a router boots, and how to find faults methodically
Exam logistics and study plan
How to prepare and what test day looks like
Where to go next
Where to go next